House of the Dragon Season 2 Gets a Premiere Date

There's now a release window for when the second season of House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO. The hit spinoff of Game of Thrones concluded Season 1 almost a year to this date, back on October 23, 2022. A record-breaking debut for House of the Dragon led HBO to quickly renew it for Season 2. The show is based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood novel and takes place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, focusing on House Targaryen. As for when Season 2 will premiere, fans will have to wait until the early part of the 2024 summer season.

HBO CEO Casey Bloys announced the "early summer" 2024 window for House of the Dragon Season 2 during an event held for the press in New York, according to Variety. Those in attendance also got the first look at the season's new trailer, though those details are being kept under an embargo. More information was also revealed regarding another Game of Thrones spinoff: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight will begin shooting in spring 2024, though that will depend on when the SAG-AFTRA strike ends.

HBO touts House of the Dragon success with Season 2 renewal

"We are beyond proud of what the entire HOUSE OF THE DRAGON team has accomplished with season one," said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, when House of the Dragon's renewal was announced. "Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV. A huge thank you to George, Ryan, and Miguel for leading us on this journey. We couldn't be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season two."

"It was wonderful to see millions of Game of Thrones fans return with us to Westeros last night," Bloys said in a statement. "House of the Dragon features an incredibly talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into the production, and we're ecstatic with viewers' positive response. We look forward to sharing with audiences what else George, Ryan and Miguel have in store for them this season."

Plans for House of the Dragon Season 3

HBO is already reportedly mulling over plans for a third season of House of the Dragon. The trades reported that series executive producer and showrunner Ryan Condal and series creator George R.R. Martin aren't fully committed to how long the show should be in the end. They note that the pair "continue to go back-and-forth on the number of seasons," considering three or four seasons in total.

A major piece of the House of the Dragon puzzle that was also revealed in reports concerns Season 2 of the series. Season 2 was reportedly trimmed from 10 episodes to 8 episodes, in what was called a "story-driven" decision.

"There are only so many minutes in an episode (more on HBO than on the network shows I once wrote for), and only so many episodes in a season. Fewer and fewer as time goes by, it seems," Martin wrote in a blog post last October. "If House of the Dragon had 13 episodes per season, maybe we could have shown all the things we had to "time jump" over... though that would have risked having some viewers complain that the show was too 'slow,' that 'nothing happened.' As it is, I am thrilled that we still have 10 hours every season to tell our tale...I hope that will continue to be true."